Question: If the sales tax in your city is $5.1\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$180$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${5.1\%} \times {\$180} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $5.1\%$ is equivalent to $5.1 \div 100$ $5.1 \div 100 = 0.051$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.051$ $\times$ $$180$ = $$9.18$ You would pay $$9.18$ in sales tax.